Grow Collective_Project2

As the second of three Grow Collective studio projects, the Hoop House introduced many new issues regarding the design and construction process. Working in a studio group of six students, my team was able to successfully delegate work, compromise on design iterations, and solve difficult problems involving material, budget, etc.. Through this project, my team and I learned that not every design can be carried through to comple on as real world constraints in the realms of structure, jointery and environmental effects limit or redirect initial ideas and concepts. However, we were able to use these contraints to our advantage to make the most effective greenhouse structure possible.

After our predcedent studies, my team established a set of solid concepts to work off of for our design that we felt best emulated the goals of the project, one of which was to keep our plants alive and thriving. Our crystal-like paneliza on stemmed from the focus on the path of the sun as it crossed the site at Phipps. Maximizing the sun exposure and heat capture was our top priority; resulting in a structure that exhibits the ability to soak up the heat from the sun at a close range to the plants in the Hoop House where the strcture recieves the longest exposure. Throughout the day, the tallest part of the structure recieves the smallest amount of sunlight, therefore we manipiulated the height so that hot air would rise from the lowest point to be stored in the most susceptible area to the cold.

Curving the edges of our metal skeleton was a primary concern as we wanted to ensure that the plastic would stay in tact without ripping, maintaining the Hoop House’s imperative insulation.

Accessibility to the plants and produce growing inside our Hoop House was a major concern as Phipps Cafe was to use the fresh food for their shop. In order to create easy access points to all parts of the plant bed, we sectioned the Hoop House into three modules, designating the center module as the center for the two large, roll-up doors. This door design was able to incorporate a single piece of plastic to wrap from one door to the next with the use of metal conduit clamps. Velcro was placed on the edges of the plastic in addittion to the conduit framing the door to maximize insulation when the access panel was not being used.